Reveries

I stare out the window

Mixed yesterdays collide

Clashing in errant breeze.

Laughing man -

So tall:

I was nine?

Proudly, Dad watched me ride that bike

-----

Down the street

A barking dog.

Sounds like Max. I was eleven.

How I loved that dog.

A birthday present.

---—

Fractured sunlight flares

Through a welcoming crack

In roiling clouds.

Glowing nimbus;

Eyes drift closed momentarily.

A heartbeat of blessed darkness.

-----

Which yesterday now?

Of course - the baby is crying.

I was twenty-three.

William Jr. So small.

Laying there - dark hair - red face.

Tiny fists clenched tight from day one.

Always a fighter.

-----

Errant piece of paper flutters by

Helpless

Borne on the wandering wind.

A child’s report card?

Let’s see:

Senior year: Graduation.

Silver honor tassel dangling from my hat.

My pride warm as summer asphalt.

-----

Look over there;

a woman passes by clutching hand to hat.

Invisible fingers snatch at her dress

Making of the fabric a heroic cape.

Breeze a lonely friend seeking comfort.

Ah the red dress. She wore it on our 35th.

-----

Where is Alice now?

Oh, of course: Gone these two years.

Damp eyes sting.

Hands lift, trembling, to cheeks.

Rain spatters on glass;

Spilled dreams of days gone by.

-----

Young man with umbrella comes up the sidewalk.

Intertwined drops sway to a slow beat

Vinyl Dance Floor.

Radio plays a melody in the background.

Beatles – Yesterday. Appropriate, I think.

-----

Heart lurches at a knock on the door.

Alice? No. Ah well.

Perhaps Death

Come calling on an old friend at last.

Cold presence of final house guest

Would perhaps be welcome.

-----

Knees creak in protest as I shuffle to the door.

Cold knob hesitates in my hand,

Shy of the thin light waiting outside.

Arthritic knuckles pulse with memory.

-----

Billy?

Yes. So tall.

Face no longer red.

Smile familiar as sunrise.

My son’s loving gaze pierces through

Spearing the hollow spaces in my heart.

——-

Wind quiets – hushed by recall

Revery’s haze scatters

Yesterdays settle

In cobweb festooned corners.

-----

Mercurial drops of memory cascade.

A waterfall rushing from forever’s abyss.

Bearing pearls fall before swine;

Settling into streams from a deep well.

-----

Thin tapestry of history

Ripples once, then settles.

Scattered thoughts gather

Blending seamlessly into silence of Now.

-----

Is there hope beyond yesterday?

Yes.

Is there purpose still for today?

Yes.

—---

Billy, my boy –

Come in.

The coffee’s on.